I can’t believe I’ve made it so far. It all started here in September 2009, and it’s been fun all the way. Here’s how my morning’s been. Enjoy.

7am

Lie in bed thinking about what T said last night. He said he had glanced at me during the day while we were out, and that I had looked pregnant. He said I needed to work on my tummy, to get rid of the fat. So I lie in bed, thinking. and then I remember that I have two children I need to get ready for school, so I jump out of bed. As I dress up, I glance at my reflection in the mirror, and suck in my stomach. I’m wearing a T-shirt and trousers today, so I’ve got to be wary about ‘the bulge’.

Etoddler’s awake and in the bathroom already, so I go in there to brush her teeth, wash her hands and wipe her face. On the way there, I pull the covers off Egirl who is still fast asleep. I dress Etoddler in her school uniform, only to notice Egirl’s not up yet. I glance into her room to see her sitting on her bed peering around sleepily.

‘You’re not going to school this morning abi?’ I ask her. With that, she jumps out of bed and heads to the bathroom.

At this point I go ‘Good morning girls’ and they chorus ‘Good morning mama’

‘Se daadaa le ji? Again they chorus ‘Adupe’.

With Etoddler done, I head back into the bathroom, brush Egirl’s teeth and wipe her face. She dresses up, I grab my belt, and we go downstairs for breakfast. Ebaby’s still asleep, thankfully.

Etoddler sits at her little table, and I give her a couple of waffles. I put Egirl’s bread into the toaster, and then start to put on my belt. Only thing is, I can’t find it. I know it was in my hands as I came downstairs, but for the life of me, I can not find it anywhere. I hunt for a bit, but the toast has popped up and needs to be buttered. So the belt has to wait. I have a dilemma. Let the trousers sag down my waist as I suck in my tummy or hitch them up and hold them in place with said round tummy? Time’s not on my side so I elect to let them sag.

My tilapia’s on a tray on the worktop, both of them. I’m making fish peppersoup today, so I left them out overnight to defrost. I drain them off then put them in the fridge.

Something's fishy

I rinse and remove the stalks from Egirl’s strawberries. They are enormous, only five fit into her fruit box. One’s slightly soft, I place it aside, and replace it with a firmer one. Six slices of toast and two waffles later, the girls are done with their breakfast. Egirl has apple and cranbery juice mixed together, Etoddler has neat apple juice. And lo, I hear Ebaby stirring.

I dash upstairs, change her nappy, top her up feed her, and change her into a daytime onesie. All this in about five minutes flat. Then it’s downstairs again. She protests a bit as I strap her into her car seat, but I make soothing noises and carry on regardless. It’s 8.20am or so and we really should be heading out.

I put Egirl’s fruit and water into her satchel, and check that she has her PE kit. Etoddler gets fruit and water at school, so that’s one less thing for me to bother about. And so we go into the car.

We get to school just in time. As I turn into the road where I park, I notice a school dad about to get his girls out of his car. One of them is in Egirl’s class, so I stop, and ask her to go over to him so she can walk with them. It’ll take me a while to park, and the school bell’s about to go. She dashes out of the car, and I drive on. After parking, I take Etoddler to her class. As we walk along, she spots a feather on the ground. I bend down, and pick it up for her. She’s excited because she’s going on an excursion today. I’m excited too. I’ll tell you why a bit later.

I’m feeling a bit rushed for time as I walk back to the car. I have a 9.30 appointment at the GP’s. If I had taken Ebaby’s muslin cloth, I’d have driven straight there, but I’ve taken her blankie instead, and if I attempt to nurse her underneath it, I’m scared she’ll bake before she’s through. So, back home we go.

We get home a bit after 9am. I take her upstairs, and brush her teeth, all four of them. She enjoys brushing her teeth, and opens her mouth wide once she catches sight of her little toothbrush. I think it makes her feel as grown up as her big sisters. I wipe her face and hands, and then settle down with her for a long feed. Once she declares herself satisfied, I heave her up, and go back downstairs. As I’m bending over to put her into her car seat, I catch sight of my missing belt. It is wedged between the kitchen stool and Egirl’s keyboard. No wonder I couldn’t find it! I put it on , and my eyes stray towards the solitary giant strawberry looking all dejected and lonely. So I eat it, in one great bite. I notice some juice in Egirl’s cup. I gulp that down too.

We head to the GP’s and get there bang on 9.30. I have barely been there for 5 minutes before my name flashes up, and I get to see her. My business concluded, I go to the chemist to pick up my prescription. Since there’s about a 20 minute wait to pick it up, I elect to pick it up later, and we return home.

I make Ebaby’s breakfast, today she’s having an oat and banana cereal. She eats enough of it to make me happy, and it’s back upstairs for us. I change her into this cute little dress, it’s from Children’ Place and I like it so much I just have to show you.

And now to tell you why I’m excited about Etoddler’s excursion. Apparently, quite a few of the nursery children in her class have never been on a public transport bus, so her teachers are taking them on a couple of buses today, and they are going to a park. My local park! I am so excited at the thought of meeting her there I could turn cartwheels. The only thing is, her teacher said if there’s not enough time, they might have to get straight back on the bus again to be back at school for lunch, so here’s hoping.

I don’t have time to sit and eat, so I grab a banana. My camera’s to hand (just took a picture of the dress to show you) and I’ve got Ebaby’s cup of water. I take the buggy out of the car, strap Ebaby in, and out we go again. I am now wearing my FitFlops. I don’t know whether or not they’ll have an effect on my tummy, but every little helps, right?

I get to the park about 5 minutes before the bus-load of excited little munchkins arrives. My very own Etoddler is one of them, and she’s still clutching her feather! We have a fun time in the park, and all too soon, I’m waving goodbye as they head back to school.

Ebaby’s sound asleep as I walk to the chemist, pick up my prescription and return home. As I pass parked cars, I check my reflection to make sure my tummy’s not sticking out. Just as I get in, the home phone starts ringing. It’s T, checking up on us. Ebaby wakes up. I sink into the sofa, It’s just gone 11.45, and I’m exhausted. It’s a good tired though :).

10 Responses to 50th post, yay for me!

You’re such a wonderful mummy, all these and you still made the 9.30a.m appointment. What made me smile in this post were two things: brushing all 4 of ebaby’s teeth…and seeing etoddler walk with her classmates at the park, still clutching the FEATHER from that morning…ha ha ha. Gosh, kids are so cute.

Thank you ore. Can hardly believe it myself. It is true that all it takes is one step at a time. Would not trade motherhood for all the wealth in the world, nor wifehood come to think of it :). And now on to pound away some more :).